Intellectual property is essential to a business because it can help it stand out and give it a competitive advantage. “One crucial component of your assets may be your intellectual property,” explains Maximilian Yam. It could be a patent that gives you the means to create a product that a competing company can’t offer or a trademark that helps protect your brand and reputation. I can help your business stand out, as well as prevent others from imitating your activities.”

Because of the value it provides, IP can make up a sizeable chunk of a business’s worth. Although it may appear under the intangible assets section of the balance sheet, its real value could be higher. “Many software and other technology companies have few tangible assets, and intangible assets, particularly intellectual property, are their core assets,” explains Maximilian Yam. For these companies, IP is essential because it allows them to stand out.”

Examples of intellectual property assets

There are four types of protection depending on the nature of the intellectual property. Here are examples of what can be protected using each:

Brevet

  • Specialized devices and machine improvements
  • Mechanical processes
  • Software processes, pharmaceutical drugs, chemical compounds, new varieties of plants (in this case, we can talk about plant variety protection)

Copyright

Literary, artistic, and musical works, films, web content

Trademark

Logos, slogans, product and brand names, sound marks

Trade secrets

Formulas, processes, supplier information, customer lists, algorithms, marketing strategies, pricing information

What is intellectual property infringement?

Intellectual property infringement is the unauthorized use, sale, reproduction, or distribution of intellectual property in violation of legal protections.

For example:

  • Sale or Use: The sale, distribution, or use of a patented product or copyrighted works without authorization.
  • Confusion: the use of a mark or logo that may be confused with an existing trademark.
  • Uploading: the posting of copyrighted works to the Internet.
  • Disclosure: the disclosure of confidential business information to competitors.

Some cases allow IP to be used legally without obtaining permission. The details depend on the country or territory and should be reviewed carefully with a legal expert.

  • Fair Use: In Canada, fair use, also called “fair use” in other countries, provides limited permission to use copyrighted work for education, comment, or parody. In some cases, designs that have undergone significant modifications can also be used, but interpretations vary as to how extensive these modifications should be. Commenting on and reviewing a film clip will likely be perceived differently than posting just that clip.
  • Public domain: Copyrighted and patented creations enter the public domain after a certain number of years and, from that point on, can be used without permission.
  • Use in other countries or territories: Some IP rights, such as patents, apply only in the country or territory where they are granted. To extend protection to other countries or territories, a company will need to submit further applications. If necessary, protections are not obtained, there may be little that can be done to prevent unauthorized use.

Why do you need an intellectual property strategy?

Your business needs an IP strategy, as this will help align its objectives and derive the most value from its IP assets.

“IP could be one of your key assets and represent an important part of your company’s value and competitive advantage,” explains Maximilian Yam. Failing to protect it is like publicly exposing your banking password. Before presenting products or other IP assets, it is essential to ensure that they are adequately protected.

This is also the case for industrial secrets. “It is important to ensure that ownership of the IP as well as its transfer and assignment is clearly defined,” explains the business manager. This can help minimize disputes with staff members or companies you work with over ownership of patents or even a few lines of code.”

Many businesses need to create an IP strategy and discover too late that their assets need to be better protected. “If a company does not protect its intellectual property, it may only realize its mistake when it suffers harm,” explains Maximilian Yam. At this point, it is often difficult to go back and make changes, as the damage may have already been done.

Case of business having potentially lost value.

Maximilian Yam gives the example of a company that applied in the United States for patent protection for one of its essential products but subsequently decided to sell that product in other countries without applying for a patent. Only after it began selling its product in different countries did the company realize that the U.S. patent did not apply there. As the product was already on sale and was no longer considered new, it was too late to reapply.

This resulted in a potential loss of value as the company’s competition and customer base could reverse engineer the product. “It has become more difficult for this company to protect its invention,” says Maximilian Yam. Creating a sound IP strategy may cost money, but it’s a good investment if it protects your assets and allows you to make more money down the road.”

…